Automobile spring suspension



Sept. 1; 192 s. 1,552,148

. I L. P. HALLADAY.

AUTOMOBILE SPRING SUSPENS ION Filled Dec. 20. 1923 Ifive720r lean/Q5 fifczZZxdgy.

y Fan/{wt (F W Patented Sept. 1, 1925.

UNITED STATES LEWIS P. HALLADAY, OF DECATUB, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMOBILE SPRING SUSPENSION.

Applicationfiled December 20, 1923. Serial No. 681,733.

[a citizen of the United States, residing at Decatur, in the county of Macon and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automobile Spring Suspensions, of which the following is a specification.

My'invention relates to an improvement in shock absorbers and particularly to an improvement in a spiral spring shock absorber which is simple'to manufacture and easy to assemble. Various other objects will appear from time to time in the course of the specification and claims.

I illustrate my invention more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure l-is a side elevation of the shock absorber in position;

Figure 2 is a view along the axis of the supplemental spring in the direction of th arrow in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is' a'detail; and v v Figure 4 is a section on the line L4: of Figure 3.

Like parts are illustrated by like characters throughout the drawingsand specification.

A is a vehicleaxle upon which is mounted the spring perch A secured thereto'by the bolt A and the nut A It will be noted that in Figure 1 the spring perch is rotated to a position opposite to that in which it is used when the supplemental spring support is dispensed with. a

-B is any suitable vehicle frame member which is mounted for example on the semi elliptic spring C.

Pivoted on a bolt or pin D passing through the eyelet of the perch A is a supplemental spring supporting element D forked as at D D and having a stem inclined upwardly and inwardly from the spring perch as at D terminating in a bracket or bend D Although this element is rotatable about the pin D it is normally held in the positionshown in Figure 1, the lug D being adapted to contact the inclined stem of the perch A In normal operation therefore, this element is fixed and serves as a fixed support for one end of the supplemental spring later to be described.-

E is a second spring support, pivoted as at D 'upon the pin D, its arms E E being positioned thereupon outside of the arms D D of the fixed support. The support E forms virtually a bell crank lever, as shown in Figure 1, and terminates in the moving spring support E Secured to the bracket end D of the fixed supportand to the endE of the moving support are spring contacting plates G, each provided with three peripheral radial lugs of varying height, G", G and G Each lug is substantially higher at its inner than at itsouter end. The inner end or bell crank lever of the moving support E is connected to the spring C through the link H which is pivoted at one end in the eyelet C of the spring and to theotherin the eyelet of the spring abuts against the highestof the three lugs, and is successively contacted by or supported by the lowest lug G the intermediate lugGr and finally the top of the highest lug G The spring is centered upon these lugs by the shaping of the lugs, the lugsbeing adapted to conform to the circular. cross section of the spring wire, and being herein shown shapedv higher at their inner than at their outer ends to have the effect of a core projecting upwardly into the spring and centering it. i a

For ease in assembling the elements D and E are pivoted together on two separate sleeves, D D The sleeve may be rot-atab-le on each or rigid on therone and rot-atable in the other as the case may be and the holding pin D is passing through these two sleeves and through the perch A The re-' sult of this is that the spring J may be assembled under compression in the factory .and will cause the part H to engage the Wvith the pin or bolt Di This is possible but the preferred form as above outlined saves the necessity of compressing the spring J separately. 7

It will be realized that while I have shown an operative device, many changes might be made in the size, shape, number, proportion, relation and disposition of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I, therefore, .wish my description and drawings to be taken as in a large sense diagrammatic.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

The shock absorber is assembled with the bell crank lever or moving spring support and the normally fixed spring support both pivoted on the pin D on the perch A 'Compressedbetween the plates G is the spiral spring J, each end of it abutting against the highest of the three lugs upon the adjacent plate, and supported also by the topsof the three lugs, and centered on theplate by the upward projection of the inner end of each of the three lugs. The use of these plates and lugs thus makes unnecessaryany flatteningor shaping of the end of thespring, and makes unnecessary any additional. guiding or centering elementor mechanismfor the spring. The result is a shock-absorber of extreme simplicity of manufacture and assembly and the individual supplemental springs used need simply be clipped to the desired length from the spring stock used. The entire supplemental spring action intervenes between the leaf spring and the spring perch. V illustrated'the spring perch A would normally be turned in the opposite direction and would receive the end of the leaf spring 0. No structural modification is needed "to mount my supplemental shock absorber mechanism upon the vehicle beyondturning the spring perch A fixed'spring support D is held in position bythe pressure'of the spring which presses the lug D down against the side of the perch, the bell crank lever or moving support rotating about a pin D through the eyelet of thespring perch and to which the leaf spring is secured.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle, a running gear, and a body, a leaf spring between the body and Inrthe form of automobile herein f T he 7 connection between the pivoted element and leaf spring, and spring engaging elements upon sa d fixed and said pivoted elements, comprislng each a plate with a plurality of peripheral upwardly pro ecting spring supporting lugs positioned thereabout, saidlugs being graduated as to size. 7

2. In a vehicle,- a running gear, and a,

body, a leaf spring between the body. and the running gear, anda sup-plementalyielding supportbetween'the body and the running gear comprising a fixedelemenn a pivoted element, aspiral spring interposed and compressed between them, and o a pivot connection between the pivoted element and leaf spring, and spring engaging elements uponsaid fixed and said'pivoted elements,

comprising each a plate withia plurality of peripheral upwardly projecting spring sup: porting lugs positioned thereabout, said lugs being graduated as to sizei'to conform substantially to the pitchof the spring end. 3. In a vehicle, a running gear, and a body, a leaf spring betWeemthe body and the running gear, and a supplementalyield ing apport between thelbody and the run ning gear comprising a ffixedaelement, a pivoted element, a" spiral spring interposed and compressed between them, anda pivot connection between the pivoted'element and leaf spring, ,and' springengaging elements upon'saidfixed and said pivoted elements, comprising each a plate with a plurality of peripheral projections thereabout, said projections being graduated as to size to con? ,formsubstantially to the pitch of the spring end, one of said lugs being adapted to serve as an abutment for the end of the spring to prevent rotation of the spring inresponse to its compression.

Signed at Chicago, county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 13th day of December LElVIS Pl HALLADAY; 

